• Potted evergreens add year round interestBrand New Images/Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  After a long summer of watering and tending potted annuals, they tend to look leggy and tired. Try the fresh, clean look of evergreens as a welcome replacement. Evergreens, potted with care, will add color to your winter patio or provide that extra touch at your front door for the holidays. There are four types of true evergreens that are winter hardy and slow growing, making them suitable for container planting.
  
  

Boxwood

• The north star boxwood, Buxus 'Katerberg' is a new member of the boxwood family, developed in Michigan. It has a globular, evergreen habit with shiny dark leaves and grows 2 to 3 feet tall in sun or shade. It is hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 5.
  
  

Spruce

• The dwarf Alberta spruce, Picea glauca 'Conica,' is a symmetrical cone-shaped evergreen with short, soft grass-green needles, much like that of a typical Christmas tree. It is slow growing and hardy to zone 2. The plants will do best if placed out of direct sunlight with protection from wind.
  
  

Arborvitae

• The American arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, also called eastern arborvitae or white cedar is an evergreen shrub with delicately textured bluish-green foliage that naturally forms a perfect 3-foot, slow-growing ball. Place in sun or part shade away from deer, which find it a winter delicacy. It is hardy from zone 2 through 7.
  
  

Juniper

• Blue star juniper, Juniperus squamatais, is a slow-growing, dense evergreen shrub with a natural clump shape. It has attractive silver-blue foliage and blue, berry-like, cones which are especially striking against a winter landscape. It grows 1 to 3 feet round in zones 4 through 9. .